The Hidden City

attachments. If you annoy me, I’ll squash you like a bug.’
    Scarpa scrambled away from the terrible old man, his eyes suddenly rational and filled with fear.
    ‘What’s happened?’ Ehlana asked anxiously.
    ‘One of my associates—Cyzada of Esos—just arrived from Cynesga,’ Zalasta replied calmly. ‘He brought us some news that we probably should have expected. Your husband’s a devious man, Ehlana. We thought that we had him, but he managed to wriggle free.’
    ‘I don’t understand.’
    ‘We left him instructions when we abducted you. He was supposed to take his squire and set out on horseback for the town of Beresa in southern Arjuna. We had people watching, and he seemed to be obeying. He was not, however. Evidently he’s not as fond of you as we’d thought he was.’
    ‘He was simply following my orders, Zalasta. I told him that under no circumstances was he to give up the Bhelliom.’
    ‘How did you manage that?’ Zalasta seemed actually startled.
    ‘Your lunatic son here told Elron to kill Baroness Melidere. Elron’s a hopeless incompetent, so Melidere was able to deflect his sword-thrust. I have some remarkable people working for me, Zalasta. Melidere was able to play dead very convincingly. I feigned hysteria and managed to whisper instructions to her while I covered her with a blanket.’ She gave him a rather malicious sidelong glance. ‘Your mind must be slipping, Zalasta. You didn’t even notice that I no longer had my ring. I left that with Melidere as well.’
    ‘Very resourceful, Ehlana,’ he murmured. ‘You and your husband are stimulating opponents.’
    ‘I’m so glad you approve. How did Sparhawk trick you?’
    ‘We’re not entirely sure. We had people watching him from the moment he left the imperial compound in Matherion, and he followed our orders to the letter. We even diverted him a couple of times to prevent any tricks. Then Klael escaped again and went looking for Bhelliom. The man we thought was Sparhawk was on a ship crossing the Sea of Arjun with his squire, Khalad. Klael took one look and instantly knew that the man who appeared to be your husband was not Anakha. That’s the news that Cyzada just brought to us.’
    She smiled almost beatifically at him. ‘And so now Sparhawk’s out there somewhere—with Bhelliom in his fist and murder in his heart—and you haven’t the faintest idea of where he might be, and quite probably not even what he looks like. You’ve got a big problem, Zalasta.’
    ‘You’re very quick, your Majesty. You think even faster than my colleagues.’
    ‘That isn’t very difficult. You’re surrounded with defectives. Which particular stroke of my genius is it that you admire?’
    He smiled faintly. ‘I rather like you, Ehlana,’ he told her. ‘You have spirit. My assorted defectives haven’t yet fully grasped the implications of your husband’s ploy. If he’s somehow managed to make someone resemble him, he’s surely able to alter his own features as well.’
    ‘He does it all the time, Zalasta. He had a great deal of experience with disguises when he was in Render. It’s all falling apart on you, isn’t it? I’d suggest that you start running immediately.’
    ‘I’ll be leaving shortly, right enough, but you’ll be going with me. Tell your maid to start making preparations for a journey.’
    ‘What are you saying?’ Scarpa scrambled to his feet. ‘She can’t leave here!’ he shrieked. ‘We’re going to make the exchange here!’
    ‘You imbecile,’ Zalasta sneered. ‘You didn’t really think I was going to let you go through with that, did you? I never had any intention of letting you get within five miles of Bhelliom.’
    Scarpa gaped at him.
    ‘It was a misguided attempt to save your life, idiot. Bhelliom would have destroyed you in the instant that you touched it.’
    ‘Not if I had the rings. They would have protected me.’ Scarpa’s eyes were wild again.
    ‘The rings are a fraud,’ Zalasta sneered. ‘They have no power over Bhelliom whatsoever.’
    ‘You’re lying!’
    ‘You desperately want to believe that, don’t you, Scarpa? You thought that all you had to do to gain control of the most powerful force in the universe was to put on a pair of rings. Ghwerig the Troll-Dwarf made the rings at Bhelliom’s instruction. They were designed to deceive a Troll into thinking he had some power over the jewel. Bhelliom induced Ghwerig to make the rings, and then it tricked Aphrael into stealing